Community Spotlight

Have you noticed? there’s a metamorphosis going on in symphony woods. it’s the chrysalis, the first of a series of the inner arbor trust’s* functional art elements for the park.

What has started to take shape is part sculpture and part amphitheater. It’s a mixture of form and function that will serve the community as a performance and event venue, while its chrysalis-look pays tribute to the transformative power of nature.

Soon, the 5,000 sq. ft. structure, which is already showing off it’s sculptural framing, will share its functional, amphitheater look. The project is quickly growing on the hillside setting near the Merriweather Post Pavilion farmhouse office.

There will be two prosceniums arches to the facility and they will both use the hillside for seating. The main proscenium is designed to stage larger productions and a smaller arch will perfectly frame more intimate productions. Both stages will work off of the same wood deck floor and can be used in combination for festivals.

The Chrysalis also acts as a pavilion and will be available public gatherings, such as picnics, and private planned functions from family reunions to weddings. As a pavilion, the Chrysalis can also be a seated venue for 400, perfect for small musical performances, poetry readings and artist “meet & greets.”On non-event days, the Chrysalis is a sculpture of urban scale nestled in the tranquil woods setting. The iconic design is ‘alive’ and seemingly no line stands still. Its look is dynamic and flows in a manner of ‘calculated serendipity’.

“The Chrysalis is the elegant engineering of concrete, steel & aluminum; and, like the nature of its namesake, it is a beautiful and functional transformative structure that is systemically irregular and seemingly delicate, while being extremely sturdy and well founded.”

– MICHAEL MCCALL, President & CEO, Inner Arbor Trust

*The Inner Arbor Trust, Inc. is the not-for-profit organization created to manage the implementation of the Inner Arbor concept plan in Symphony Woods Park. The Inner Arbor is where nature, art, culture, music, and design come together.